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Film: Tai-Chi Master
Release date: 26th April 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 91 mins
Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Starring: Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Chin Siu-hou, Fennie Yuen, Yuen Cheung-Yan
Genre: Martial Arts/Comedy
Studio: Cine Asia
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong
Two of Asia’s more impressive acting let alone martial arts exports teaming up with a director whose credits include Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master and The Matrix surely couldn’t fail.
The orphaned Junbao (Jet Li) and Tianbao (Chin Siu-hou), who he befriended as a child, have grown up together as monks, getting themselves in many comical high jinks along the way. Whilst both are exceptionally talented martial artists, Junbao is far more carefree than the determined Tianbao who enters a competition for promotion within the Shaolin’s ranks.
Winning his final bout with ease, Tianbao grows enraged when his opponent cheats and tries to attack him with a concealed weapon. Despite being the innocent party, his subsequent actions are frowned upon, and when Junbao stands by his friend they are both expelled from the temple that has been their home for so many years.
Now on their own, the duo enter a poor village which is being terrorised by a corrupt governor and his army. The kind-hearted Junbao of course sides with the rebels who want to steal from the wrong doers and give back to the poor, whilst the ambitious Tianbao opts to join the military ranks, bringing the duo into direct conflict. You know the rest…
If there’s a familiarity to the synopsis, it’s understandable - the story has been recycled and adapted on countless occasions within this medium. Li’s character following his old master’s philosophies and training to do good, his close friend turning against those ideals out of greed to do bad - although the swift switch from competitive to cold-blooded and merciless tyrant is hardly given plausibility here. Still a familiar romp with unrealistic character shifts is not the be-all and end-all with a classic martial arts movie – it’s how well they deliver in the action stakes.
Unfortunately, that’s the film’s biggest failing. The fighting, no doubt impressive feats of physical endeavour, are overly excited; the speed and busyness rendering well executed moves unimpressive as you barely take in lightning speed feats amongst a plethora of bodies (Li taking on a whole army with a bamboo stick sounds a lot better on paper). It doesn’t help that the more impressive and better executed martial arts scenes are delivered early on, with Li and Chin turning their everyday chores into sparring bouts, and their expulsion from the Shaolin is not without first witnessing some fantastic pole assisted ass kicking, as the duo take on countless pupils (whose development has, of course, been dramatically impinged in comparison) within the temple’s confined space. However, whilst the film can never match yet surpass these early highlights, the lack of any bone-crunching impact coupled with the excessive and unrealistic use of wires (people are flown around the screen with minimal grace) does it no favours – even if augmenting the film’s intentional comedic aspect.
It’s not uncommon for Asian martial arts flicks to balance out the violence and forcefully delivered philosophical messages (Li also develops ridiculous ‘super powers’ through his understanding of Tai-Chi that eventually rebalances his mental state) with a deep running current of humour, but roping Jet Li in on the fun was a bad move. Massively miscast, the jokes fall flat, he looks visibly uneasy on screen, and it all adds to the mess. It doesn’t help that the filmmakers seem keen to make comment on some fairly serious subject matter – alcoholism, for one, mocked throughout.
Li is not only unable to display the intensity that’s made him a household name with both eastern and western audiences, he’s embarrassed. When the filmmakers decide to mock mental health problems (he goes insane after his old chum gives him a proper hiding), we have him stumbling around pretending to be a duck - it hits a real low point. This is not funny; it’s a dark subject matter that is made all the more depressing when delivered in such an unsubtle and dim-witted manner.
As mentioned, there is more than one actor here who has made their impression internationally, but Michelle Yeoh is woefully underused – and you have to question the merits for her inclusion in this story, given that her kidnap is swiftly remedied and is not used to crank up the tension or intensity as the film draws to a close. Thankfully, there is restraint, and no ill conceived romantic developments put the brakes on a film whose single credit is that it runs at a brisk enough pace to enjoy as mindless throwaway fodder – as you’ve just been privy, it’s not a good thing to think too hard about what you’ve witnessed.
Despite the pedigree of those involved, this is a disappointedly amateur offering, whose production was already dated by the time of its original release. You really will have to switch the lights off to enjoy the mayhem. DH
Film: Merantau Warrior
Release date: 26th April 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 106 mins
Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Sisca Jessica, Christine Hakim, Mads Koudal
Genre: Martial Arts
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Indonesia
In the Sumatran region of Indonesia, there comes a time in a young man’s life when he must undertake “Merantau”, a rites-of-passage journey whereby he leaves his village to try and find his place in the world. Writer/director Gareth Evans has taken that premise and spun it into a dangerous adventure.
Yuda’s Merantau starts with a number of setbacks which would have most people running back to their village – the house he’s meant to be staying in has been demolished, there’s no work for a Silat instructor and just now he’s been robbed by a street urchin called Adit. Chasing him through the increasingly narrow alleyways brings Yuda to the point where the momentum of the plot starts to change gears.
Adit’s sister, Astri (Sisca Jessica), is a dancer in a nightclub run by Johnni, and Adit has inadvertently led Yuda (Iko Uwais) there. As Yuda confronts the little thief, Astri and Johnni come out of a side-door, arguing. Turns out, Johnni wants a portion of Astri’s tips. Things get violent, and Yuda steps in. Astri isn’t particularly pleased with her unsolicited knight-in-shining-armour, believing his interference is only going to make things worse. Johnni isn’t too happy either.
Johnni, it turns out, is providing girls to a pair of Eurotrash sex-traffickers called Ratger and Luc, who are in town to pick up their latest shipment of girls. When Ratger points out to him that he’s a girl short, Johnni immediately thinks of Astri as a perfect replacement...
Merantau starts with a deliberate slow pace, grounding the story in context as we are introduced to Yuda, his family and his village life. Evans captures the rolling hills, the grass terraces and the air of tranquillity. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but Yuda is going to sorely miss this lifestyle.
Ratger and Luc get an excellently shot introduction, as they survey the latest consignment for their brothels. Whilst Ratger reclines in a sumptuous looking leather armchair, the girls are given a rather crude medical examination. The treatment of the girls is likely to make your skin crawl. Of the two, Ratger is the hot-headed dominant one, while Luc is the cool-headed voice of reason. When Yuda bursts in and rescues Astri, Ratger demands revenge, but Luc councils a more reasonable course of action – they need to get the girls shipped and don’t have time for vendettas. Of course, Ratger wins out and hires more guys to take on Yuda and get the girl back.
The second half of the film is basically “chase–fight-chase” as Yuda tackles increasingly skilled fighters in his quest to help Astri and Adit. This leads to a scene which could be described as a microcosm of 90s Hong Kong action cinema, when Yuda re-encounter’s Eric. Sparks really fly between these two. Having met and bonded at the beginning of the film, they suddenly find themselves on opposite sides. The ensuing fight, inside the constricted space of an elevator is of epic proportions. As good as the fight itself is, the following unspoken act of honour and brotherhood is even better.
Director Gareth Evan’s approach to the martial arts genre is exactly what fans have been crying out for. Firstly, the fights are choreographed rather than edited together. Secondly, the actors are all proficient martial artists (the exception being Mads Koudal, who has put the time and effort in to ensure he isn’t embarrassed onscreen). And thirdly, the fights are filmed in a straight fashion, rather than the du jour in-your-face shaky-cam. In fact, the length of shots seems to increase as the film progresses, to the point that an attack on Johnni’s bar is a one-take shot which lasts over a minute of screen-time (although the DVD extras point out that that scene in particular took over fifty attempts to complete!).
The acting is very impressive. Iko Uwais was discovered by Gareth Evans when he was making a martial arts documentary and was taken with the young man’s screen presence. It’s certainly not apparent that this is his first film role. Although he doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, he carries it off very well. Sisca Jessica manages to bring some life to a “damsel in distress” role, and delivers a heart-rending monologue about why she and her brother are in the predicament they are in. Yayan Ruhian is another newcomer. He only has a couple of scenes but proves to be very memorable in them.
Best of all, though, is Mads Koudal as Ratger, You can really imagine there are people like him roaming around Jakarta and Bangkok preying on young women with no better futures. It would have been so easy to over-play the part, but Koudal gets it just right, allowing flashes of temper to get the better of him now and again, then reigning back in.
Gareth Evans has studied the competition and delivered a martial arts movie which delivers the drama and acting as much as it does the amazing fights and stunt-work. Fans of the genre owe it to themselves to check this film out, and remember the name of Iko Uwais for the future. MOW
Film: Raging Sun, Raging Sky
Release date: 12th April 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 191 mins
Director: Julián Hernández
Starring: Jorge Becerra, Javier Oliván, Guillermo Villegas
Genre: Drama
Studio: TLA
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico
The third feature film by Julián Hernández continues the theme of his previous work, exploring the possibilities of homosexual love and sexuality on an epic scale.
Raging Sun, Raging Sky is a tale of two lovers, separated by a jealous outsider and ultimately reunited by a mysterious female spirit, described as “the heart of the sky.”
Soundtracked by the noises of traffic, rain and murmured thoughts rather than dialogue, the film begins with a seemingly chance romantic and sexual encounter between a man, Ryo, and the female spirit on the streets of Mexico City. She sets him on a quest to find his true companion, exhorting him to let love be his guide.
Ryo’s companion is not to be a woman, but a man, and the film goes on to explore a search for emotional and sexual intimacy in the city.
In contrast to the sexual encounters readily found in the gay cinema, bars or toilets of the city, the three main male characters experience visions of their soulmates which indicate the destiny of their paths. Ryo discovers his soulmate, Kieri, but their story is not to be straightforward. A third character, Tari, pines after Ryo and abducts him, taking him to a cave in the desert, where Kieri must find and save him. The sky spirit guides Kieri’s path in the name of love, which she believes will bring harmony to the world…
The film is virtually wordless, and the scant commentary supplied by the occasional exposition of the characters’ internal thoughts has a poetic style and a mythical theme. Critics have commented that Hernandez’ previous works display the characteristics of choreography, and approaching the film as a piece of physical theatre rather than conventional realistic representation makes sense of some of its idiosyncrasies.
The pace is slow, and the acting of Giovanna Zacarias (the sky spirit) and Javier Oliván (Tari), in particular, exhibit the exaggerated expression of a story told through mime or dance, a style we’re more accustomed to see projected from a stage than viewed in close up on a cinema screen. Giovanna Zacarias trained in classical ballet, and this is evident both in her very deliberate movements, and in the extreme emotion of her facial expressions. Certain scenes show a slow balletic shift in tension – as when Ryo, in foreground and brightly lit, slowly descends the stairs of a cinema, with shadowed men circling behind him, or when Ryo and the female sky spirit walk with a measured and joyful pace towards each other through the rain. One scene shows Ryo with a number of men having sex around him, their moves echoing each other in a clearly choreographed way, which evokes a collective mood rather than the actions of individuals.
As with good dance performances, the film has a certain hypnotic power, and it’s due in no small part to the creative soundtrack – while later scenes, during the dramatic finale, use an occasional drum roll or the growing tension implied by the repeated brush of a cymbal, the majority of the film is accompanied by the sounds of the city (a bus changing gear, the rainstorms that seem to accompany moments of true intimacy, the unspoken thoughts of people waiting for a bus).
The artistic team of Alejandro Cantù (photographic director) and Julio Quezada Orozco (artistic director) worked on Hernández’ previous feature film, Broken Sky (2006), and the distinctive style of the cinematography is frequently stunning. Mainly shot in black-and-white, lighting is used to exaggerated effect, particularly in night scenes where a character may be strongly backlit so that all else fades into darkness, or where the light flickers to give a sense of heightened emotion or of sinister intent. The film is intent on exploring sex as a means of spiritual intimacy, and the mood of these scenes varies from tenderness or hope to violence, but some of the sex scenes can verge on over stylised, with their perfectly lit protagonists recalling the black-and-white sterility of 1980s Calvin Klein adverts.
The film loses some of its impact when the setting shifts from the claustrophobia of the city to the starkly lit desert location of Ryo’s abduction and the final scenes. The film’s low budget is evident in the aerial panning shots of the mountains. The soundtrack also changes here from the understated noises of the city to a minimalistic musical soundtrack, obviously intended to underscore the themes of tragedy and heroism. This would only be effective if the whole vision of these later scenes worked, but there is too much towards the end that doesn’t - from the characters’ One Million BC-esque costumes to the portentous mythology of the sky spirit, sporting a spear and helmet and imploring Kieri to let the impetuous stream of his spirit attack his enemy. There’s a fine line to be walked between the epic and the ridiculous, and this doesn’t always manage to tread the right side of that line. Despite this, the film’s ultimate resolution of conflict is touching, and ends with a characteristically finely framed shot.
The positive intentions of the film are evident – a wish to present love as a revolutionary force, and to create scenes which are not just physically erotic but spiritually so. But beautiful cinematography and an atmospheric soundtrack are not enough to sustain involvement - at over three hours long, the film undeniably drags, and, as with Hernández’ previous work, it’s likely to provoke a love or hate reaction in most viewers. It would be good to see the undeniable skill and lyricism of his work adapted to something lighter. KR
